


promise i can stay good

by brandywine421



Series: we might be hollow, but we're brave [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s01e08 The Defenders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-17 22:33:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11860995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandywine421/pseuds/brandywine421
Summary: "Believe it or not, I wasn't trying to be a martyr.""Yeah, I don't believe it, Matthew."Luke stumbled out at that, wrapping the ever-too-small towel around himself. "Who are you talking to?""I think Matt's being held hostage by nuns," Claire said without covering the speaker.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Self-indulgent post-Defenders fluffiness.

 

 

 

She fumbled for the phone, abandoned on the counter in her rush to get to her nap.

It had been weeks and she still felt the ache from her piece of the final fight pulsing in her veins like a curse. She earned this nap, Dammit; but she couldn't ignore a ringing phone even if she wasn't on call anymore.

" _Claire_?"

She counted to ten. "Yes?" It couldn't be him. It - sweet Christmas - **nope** \- count to ten first.

" _Hey, uh. It's Mike._ "

"Where the hell have you been? Are you - " Shit - please let this be the real thing - let this be the silver lining in the shitstorm of their lives.

" _I don't know where I am, I - they don't have television here - did everyone make it out alive_?"

"Yes, not all in one piece, but everyone - wait - how can you not know where you are?"

" _The Sisters have taken a vow of silence and the doctor won't tell me anything not medical related - its - I'm not in the city. I've never been out of the city and I haven't been out of the building since I woke up. Claire - I have no right to ask -_ "

"Why call me? Did you call Nelson or Page?" she asked suddenly. Luke. She had to find Luke and tell him - someone - everyone needed to know.

 _"I don't know what happened outside. Are they okay? Are the police looking for me?_ "

"They're grieving but your best friend managed to get us all off the hook. They - we thought you were dead. What happened down there?" She flung open the bathroom door and caught a facefull of steam from the shower.

" _Believe it or not, I wasn't trying to be a martyr._ "

"Yeah, I don't believe it, Matthew."

Luke stumbled out at that, wrapping the ever-too-small towel around himself. "Who are you talking to?"

"I think Matt's being held hostage by nuns," Claire said without covering the speaker.

 _"I don't know how I got here, if Elektra - or someone else - I - can't ask any of you to find me when I don't know what you'd be walking into - but I figure - if it's a convent, it would be better if a woman came for me than anyone else._ "

"He's alive? Are you - " Luke interrupted.

She should have waited a moment to get Luke because she wasn't ready to pass him the phone.

" _My senses are muffled from whatever medication they've got me on and I - damn, I have to go."_

The line went dead suddenly and she finally looked up to meet Luke's concerned gaze. "He's alive, we have to find him."

 

* * *

  
"This looks creepy enough to be the right place," Jessica muttered as she pulled Trish's borrowed car through the gates of the overgrown fence surrounding the Sisters of Mercy and Grace compound. Or whatever the fuck this place was.

"Danny didn't know he was religious, or, like, this kind of religious," Colleen said from the backseat. Jessica liked Claire well enough but she was hedging her bets when it came to Murdock and having a ninja along wouldn't hurt.

"Hasn't he been crashing in Matt's house all the time?" Jessica asked.

"He doesn't go through his stuff," Colleen muttered.

"Matt's so Catholic he makes you feel guilt by osmosis," Claire replied, holding the battered braille bible snitched from Matt's apartment in case they needed proof of why they were crashing a nun party.

"I still don't get why he called you out of everyone," Jessica said, giving the nurse a look.

"I met him before the red armor, before any of his friends knew about Daredevil. I stopped keeping track of how many times he saved my life compared to how many times he put me in danger," Claire replied quietly. She barked out a laugh. "I mean, talk about the perfect guy on paper - church-going lawyer, insane in the sack - but he's a hot mess of complications, ninjas and mobsters once you get to know him."

She wasn't blind to Murdock's attributes, that ass was distracting in or out of the fetish gear; but she hadn't counted on anyone having firsthand experience in their little call-tree. "Insane?" she raised an eyebrow.

Claire's eyes turned up to the Gothic-looking chapel and dormitories at the top of the hill and didn't bother to glare. "I just think there's a reason a killer like Elektra would get hooked. He's definitely unforgettable. He can't see so he feels, he touches and tastes and he makes you feel it too..."

"Somewhere, Luke's getting an inexplicable sense of inadequacy," Jess snorted to change the subject. "We're never talking about this again."

"I am very uncomfortable, yet intrigued," Colleen said with a sly smile.

She shifted the car into park and took a deep breath to focus. "All right, ladies. Big girl panties on and best behavior in front of the nuns. Let's get our devil back to his kitchen."

A woman met them at the stairs and escorted them to a lobby staffed by silent Sisters. It was creepy as hell with all the religious tapestries and statues making it seem like a church when the scent was antiseptic and sterile like a hospital.

"Hi," Jessica beamed at the nun behind the desk. "We were hoping to pick up our friend, we heard he was here. Matthew Murdock?"

The woman didn't react immediately but several of the ladies tasked with dusting scurried out of the room. She pushed forward a thick binder and held out a pen. A guestbook.

"So that means he is here, right? Ma'am?" Jessica asked with her fake smile still in place.

The nun tapped the book with the pen.

Claire sighed and reached forward, printing each of their names on blank lines to pacify the lady.

The woman skimmed their names before closing the book with a snap and motioning toward a door several feet away with 'OFFICE' painted on the wood.

Jessica reached for the door but paused to read the small sign to the side of it at eye level. " _The Sisters of Mercy and Grace observe a vow of silence in penance to Our Heavenly Father. Please wait inside for assistance._ "

Stepping inside, the office seemed more like a file room with locked cabinets and bookcases lining every wall.

"That can't be a coincidence, can it?" Colleen whispered and Jessica followed her gaze to the name placard on the desk. _Sister Margaret Murdock_.

* * *

  
" _You owe us so many drinks for this, Murdock, what the actual fuck._ "

He snapped awake at Jessica's voice and recognized Claire's scent and another - Danny's girl - thank God.

Claire's fingers turned his wrist before he could greet any of them, but he sensed the older Sister that seemed omnipresent on the perimeter of the room. "Are you alright?"

"Better now," he replied. "Hi, Jess. Colleen. Thanks for coming." He turned his hand to squeeze Claire's fingers. Thank God.

"Shattered ribs, severe internal bleeding, couple of sliced tendons," Jessica read off, pages flapping loud enough in the soundproofed room to make him wince. "What do you think of that morphine dose, Claire?"

"Explains why he's so out of it." Claire squeezed his hand again and turned away from him. "We're taking him home, do you have a wheelchair or - "

"Can you sit up, Matt? They're getting you a ride and Jessica looks like she's about to bridal carry you out of here if it'll get her away from the nuns faster," Colleen said softly.

He swallowed thickly and focused, trying to sense his surroundings and strength through the numbing of the drugs. They'd come for him. He could trust them. "The drugs - I can't focus like I need to." He wavered when he managed to shift his legs to the edge of the bed and lower his bare feet to the floor.

"Claire explained it. Don't try so hard, just be a blind guy for today and warn us if you're going to puke," Jessica said, sitting down beside him on the bed with something soft in her hands. "This is one of Luke's hoodies so we don't have to look at all those abs on the way home." She draped it over his shoulders and he raised his chin so she could zip it up before pushing his fingers through the sleeves.

Her fingers hesitated pulling away at the collar. "What?"

"It's been weeks but your throat's still pretty raw," Jessica said.

"You haven't been drinking today. And Colleen still has stitches. And she used Danny's toothbrush today," Matt said, too exhausted from the act of sitting up to censor himself. "I don't think I can stand up."

"Those are all very good reasons for us to get you out of here as soon as possible. And gross, Colleen," Jessica said.

"At least I brushed my teeth," Colleen replied.

He leaned his head against Jessica's shoulder and breathed in her scent. "Everyone's really okay? How long have I been here?"

"Everyone but you came out of it alive. It's been a couple of weeks," Jessica answered. "What about your ex?"

He shook his head and immediately regretted it. He raised his hand to his chest, unzipping the soft fleece a few clicks below his throat. "Don't know. I - I blacked out before I felt her die this time."

 

* * *

 

"He's going to have a hell of a time detoxing from that cocktail they had him on," Claire said, standing back as Jessica manhandled their suddenly sleeping patient into the backseat.

Colleen glanced back at the hovering nun watching from the top of the stairs. "I don't think she told him who she was so why would they drug him?"

"Maybe to keep him off his feet, who the hell knows," Claire said. "When he's lucid, I'm going to find out."

"He's alive and that's what counts. We should be back in the city before rush hour if we don't make any stops," Jessica said, stepping back. "He's not usually this cuddly, is this a thing?"

"I think it's the familiarity - you said he's never been out of the city," Colleen answered before Claire could. She was paying attention and Daredevil was too important to Danny and Claire for her to disappoint them. A lot of people needed Matt Murdock to be okay.

Claire walked around the car. "You take that side, I'll hold him up on this end. He'll probably sleep the rest of the way but he needs to drink fluids and take bathroom breaks if he wakes up. He should be more healed by now."

"I'm freaked out and I can see what this place is - he's probably half-crazy after weeks of the silent treatment," Jessica said, starting the car.

They all relaxed when the convent was out of sight but it was a long time before anyone spoke. She couldn't stop looking at the dark marks on Matt's throat.

"He's so lucky to be alive," Claire said, arranging the sleeves around his fingers and nodding approvingly when he curled his fingers inside the cuffs.

"She was strong, she could have crushed his windpipe," Colleen whispered.

"That chick was a sociopath, or something worse - but she never took her eyes off the prize. She loved him back in her own obsessive way," Jessica muttered.

"Her cape's in the box with his suit," Claire said quietly. "The nuns put it in the trunk. You think she'll come for him?"

"She won't," Matt answered without opening his eyes. "She wouldn't have left me there if she had any intention of coming back."

"Are you going to go after her?" Colleen asked, ignoring Jessica's sharp glare in the rear view mirror. She didn't regret it when he leaned his head on her shoulder with a soft hum.

"No. I'm not even sure I can be happy knowing she's alive when she's killed so many but - I love her. What happened after the elevator fell? Did we lose any civilians?" Matt asked, changing the subject as he woke enough to process his oversharing.

"Misty lost an arm but everyone else got out safely," Claire said.

"The detective? How?" Matt whispered.

"Bakuto found us when we were planting the bombs. I was careless," Colleen said.

Jessica scoffed. "Don't start with that or I'm stopping for shots."

Matt hummed. "You're a little loveblind over Danny, but I doubt you were careless. If you two hadn't shown up when you did, this would have ended a lot differently."

"Which way would have ended up with you walking out of that place with us?" Jessica asked gruffly.

"Danny's a good fighter, but I'd put my bet down on you in a real fight," Matt replied in Colleen's ear. "Is he doing okay?"

"He's been looking after Hell's Kitchen for you. Gives him something to do other than meditate and eat all my food," Colleen replied.

"No charges for any of you?"

"Foggy's a great lawyer and we didn't ask any questions," Claire said. "You're still a missing person, nobody wanted to declare you anything else...but it's all fine. Misty's getting better every day and Jess is taking clients again and Luke's got stuff in the works."

"I can't explain how good it is to hear that. Where are you taking me?"

"Your apartment's stocked and waiting. I called Nelson and suggested he stop by after work," Claire replied.

"He's going to be so pissed off," Matt sighed with a slight slur.

"Get some sleep, we've got a couple of hours before you get to find out how wrong you are," Jessica said.

 

* * *

 

"Is that a new couch?" Karen blurted out when she found the blond boy billionaire and the hulking hunk of a man, Luke the one dating Matt's ex, loitering in Matt's apartment.

Danny Rand, shifted uncomfortably. "I'm feeling very attacked right now."

"It's a white couch. He's going to get blood all over it before the check clears," Foggy backed her up from the hallway.

"I was thinking beer or mustard, but Foggy's right. If you're both here, that means it's true? He's alive?" Karen asked.

Luke closed the door before he answered, glancing around the room for hidden ears. "From what the ladies found out - his crazy ex girlfriend dropped him off at a convent in the care of a bunch of nuns."

"Matt hates hospitals, even ones with nuns," Foggy interrupted.

"Colleen said they had taken a vow of silence and isolated him, muted his senses to force him to rest," Danny said.

Karen twisted her fingers in Foggy's suit sleeve when he hissed out a curse.

"She said he was doing much better in the car and that he was a soft and pure cinnamon roll but I think that's code for okay," Danny added.

"Okay. Sure. And Elektra - she's gone?"

"The nun wrote it out for them. She brought him in wrapped up in her cape and ordered them to save him or she would kill them all. Stayed until he was stable and disappeared like a ghost," Luke said.

Karen flushed with rage. "That bitch. He'll go after her Foggy," she turned to him.

"No, no, he won't - he didn't before," Foggy said, taking her hands. "He loves her but he won't follow her. He's coming home."

She had to focus. "Right. Sure. Sheets, are the silk ones clean?"

Danny shifted, nervous again. "They were all silk, but I ordered new ones. They're silk, too, but better."

"Why are you buying him new sheets and a couch?" Karen asked.

"Uh, well, I don't know the strength of his supersenses..."

Luke smacked the back of the guy's head and knocked him forward a couple of steps. "Are you _actually_ a teenage boy? Did you really bang your girlfriend on his bed?"

"And his couch?" Foggy added.

"Don't say 'bang' and it's not like I'm going to make love to her on the floor, that's unsanitary," Danny muttered.

She leaned her head against Foggy' shoulder. "Jesus, if he makes friends like these without us around then we really messed him up."

"You're so grounded," Luke said behind her.

The door opened and the nurse and good ninja - she had to remember that there were good ones now - walked into the apartment.

"Jessica's teaching him how elevators work," Claire said.

She narrowed her gaze at Danny. "You replaced the elevator, too?"

 

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy eclipse day! You're all so nice. Thanks for hanging out in my fluffy sandbox.

 

Luke liked the new couch but he'd never sat on the old one so who was he to judge. Hell, he'd never been in Murdock's place before today.

Nelson and Karen's faces shutter closed when Jessica walked in supporting most of Matt's weight.

The guy looked worse than Luke expected so long after the building fell on him but he was a normal guy apart from _bat_ powers and karate.

The city needed Daredevil but those two needed Matt Murdock and he didn't blame them for whisking him into the bedroom without preamble.

"Does anyone know what their deal is? Because Matt's determined that they're going to be mad at him," Colleen whispered.

"Matt keeps a lot of secrets and he's got a shit-ton of enemies," Claire sighed. "Knowing him in the suit or out of it - you're going to end up in the crossfire eventually."

"He's a hero," Danny said quietly.

"Daredevil's a hero, Murdock's a fuck-up," Jessica muttered.

The door opened and Karen stepped out. "Finally someone that's talking sense. Do you need a drink? I need a drink."

"Hallelujah, a kindred spirit at last," Jessica said, gracelessly linking their arms together and steering her toward the door.

Foggy sighed from the bedroom. "Okay, so Matt's been thoroughly hugged and lectured and is going to sit in the corner and think about what he did wrong for the next three weeks. Daredevil wants to talk to you and I'm not involved in those discussions." He glanced back when Matt murmured something Luke couldn't make out. "I know, triple shot espresso and no food wrapped in plastic." Foggy gave them a tired smile and jingled his keys. "I'll be back, don't bleed or fuck on anything while I'm gone," he said pointedly to Danny.

Luke snickered and left him to explain and followed Claire into Matt's room.

"How'd that go?" Claire asked, going to work unzipping what looked like one of Luke's own hoodies.

"Could've gone worse. Foggy doesn't understand and Karen, she'll never forgive me for lying so long," Matt said in a shaky voice. "But they're both here and it's better than it was 3 weeks ago. Claire, honestly, is Danny Rand of legal drinking age because I feel like someone should card him before he drinks that beer in the kitchen."

"You gave him that deathbed directive to look after Hell's Kitchen for you so you must trust him a little," Luke said.

"End of the world rules. He had Colleen, you had Claire and Jess has that sister that I'd really like to meet one day when I've showered and shaved first," Matt replied. "Your hearts were all at the top of that hole and mine, well, I thought mine was at the bottom."

"What about Foggy and Karen? You didn't think they'd need you?" Danny asked, walking in with Colleen tucked under his arm.

"I lost them when Elektra died the first time. I thought I could - I thought I could have a different ending this time, not another round of suicide watch and 'I told you so's'," Matt frowned.

"You gonna stick to that three weeks of Nelson's time-out?" Luke asked, not touching the other comments.

"Yeah. Danny, I want you to take the suit to my guy. He won't trust you without it but if you play it right; maybe he'll make you something that covers your soft parts," Matt said. "Ask if his friend is all right. He keeps his ear to the ground so he might know who you are, but don't treat him like a bad guy. He's not a bad guy."

"Okay, sounds easy enough," Danny replied with that eager spark of being trusted with something important. "Hey. We're all really glad you're alive. Even if you're an asshole for the rest of it."

"Ditto," Matt smiled. "I am possibly going to get very sick soon. Danny's watch is three seconds slow and the yogurt in the fridge is out of date. Colleen and Claire both need to eat and your phone's buzzing in your coat pocket on the hook by the door," he told Luke.

Claire frowned with concern, pushing her fingers through Matt's hair with familiarity Luke still wasn't completely used to. "What's your medical status?"

"Getting a little overloaded. Mrs. Logan's cat had three kittens while I was gone and one of them's sick. Foggy hasn't made it to his car yet because he's on the phone to Marci lying about where he is," Matt replied. "If I promise not to hurt myself will you can unwrap my bandages so I can shower?"

"Make it a bath and you've got a deal," Claire replied.

"I'm not going to ask why I have a bathtub now," Matt sighed.

 

* * *

 

Danny was glad that Colleen had insisted on coming with him to see Matt's 'friend' because Mr. Potter was not exactly a welcoming host.

He didn't think he needed to worry about being shot, at least, considering the sheer number of blunt objects within the larger man's reach.

Potter had taken the box containing the Daredevil suit like a treasured child. "Oh. Oh no," he murmured, shaking his head as his eyes started to shine.

"He's okay, I mean, he's still alive," Danny blurted out before snapping his mouth closed at the man's sharp glare.

"Why would he send you if he was okay?" Potter asked in a soft voice that didn't match his fierce appearance. He continued to pet the armor.

"You know that explosion a few weeks back? Daredevil was at the bottom of it. Danny's been filling in, when he can, to make sure all of Daredevil's friends are still safe," Colleen spoke.

Potter dropped the box and spun around, taking Danny's hands in a single swift motion, studying his fingers. Colleen put her hand on his back to keep him centered and from punching the strange guy. "Your hand's not gold. They said a man with a gold hand saved little Marcellus behind the bodega..."

"I'm the Iron Fist. I don't turn it on unless I'm fighting. I didn't come to fight," Danny said. The man released him and studied Colleen, squinting in the dim lights.

"You teach self defense classes. Betsy, she wanted to take some but I don't like her going uptown without me," Potter said.

Colleen and Danny glanced at each other as the man turned away and pulled out Matt's battered uniform.

He reached his hand into the collar and Danny winced when bulletholes and gaping slashes were visible in the light.

"It probably saved his life," Danny said, earning the man's attention. "He saved so many lives because of that armor."

"It'll take me a few days, but I have some new stuff coming in," Potter said.

"Oh, Daredevil's won't need his suit for a couple of weeks. I'll be around, though, in case you or Betsy have any problems, okay?" Danny replied.

"I'll be around, too, and I'd be happy to give your friend a lesson or two while my boyfriend's working," Colleen said. "I don't know a lot of people in this part of town."

"You should teach him how to be scarier," Potter said to her before turning back to Danny. "Come back in two days, I'll have something for you."

 

* * *

 

"Detective Knight. Thanks for coming."

She'd seen a lot of crazy fucking things over the past few weeks but she honestly never expected to see Matthew Murdock back from the dead. "Counselor."

He looked like utter shit, tangled in a mess of fancy sheets with bruises around his sunken, trackless eyes.  
  
"You're surprised. Me, too. I'm sorry you got dragged into our battle but I wanted to thank you in person." He blinked dully at her. She wondered how much he could 'see' to know where she was.

"Nobody explained how you got involved, were you in the explosion radius?" she asked.

"I'm cutting the shit here, Detective. Against all advice, legal and common sense included," he replied.

She stepped further into the room and tried to put the pieces he was giving her together. "The case is closed so don't put yourself out."

"You protected our friends - before and after we went from witnesses to suspects. I'm in your debt," Murdock said.

"It's my job. If I'm lucky, it'll still be my job after physical therapy's over," Misty sighed.

"You went above and beyond your job," Murdock replied. He tilted his head, tipping his ear toward the open window. "You were noticed."

"I didn't drive here," she replied dumbly, heading to the window.

"No, they liked your 'swerve'. All sources report your ass looks great in those pants," Murdock said, relaxing into his nest again.

She turned to ask how the fuck he knew that - any of that - but the pieces finally fell into place. The blind lawyer hadn't been at Midland Circle because Daredevil was there. She'd seen him in action, on video and live but there was no way Daredevil could fight that way without sight.

"You're not superpowered," she stated.

"Not so much," Murdock replied. "My senses are turned up to eleven, but I'm still just a regular guy. On day four of morphine withdrawal so I'm probably turned up to fifteen at the moment, but I - you deserve an explanation."

"Seems more like you wanted to make me feel like a shitty detective," Misty snorted. "I thought you retired."

"Me, too."

She sighed. "Well, Counselor. I can't say Daredevil will ever be welcome in Harlem; but I might keep your card around in case I meet anyone that needs a good lawyer."

"I work cheap."

 

* * *

 

"Hey, Mr. Nelson?"

Foggy winced at the name and turned to remind Danny Rand not to call him that outside of the office. Or at least not here.

"I wanted to apologize, sort of. Matt tried to walk away, he tried to sit it out. He lied to us, too, but we - the city wouldn't have survived that night without him," Danny said.

"That doesn't help. The way you idolize him doesn't help either," Foggy replied.

"I respect him, sure. Seeing how much he's lost, how much he's sacrificed - it's a perspective I need to try and understand." He sat down across from him at the counter. "That man, Stick, he trained Matt but when the time came, he didn't want to join the fight. I was probably the same age he was when I got the same offer but I made a different choice."

"There are other ways to fight bad guys," Foggy sighed. "I know that he's doing his best and - I can't be involved in this."

Danny nodded solemnly. "I think he accepts that. But can you accept that he's always going to be involved? Because from what little I've learned about him so far - he's lost too much to ever not be involved."

"Stick's dead, Elektra's gone. He could have his life back, if that's what he wanted," Foggy said.

"I don't think it's ever been about what he wanted," Danny said quietly.

He exhaled, exhausted. "I know."

"And his life's probably not the same when his best friends have hard feelings," Danny said.

"I do not need a guilt trip from you, Mr. Rand," Foggy snapped. "And for the record, I don't approve of any of Matt's friends - you're all ridiculous influences."

Danny nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry he doesn't know Spiderman yet."

"Of course he makes friends with superheroes, just not the ones I want autographs from," Foggy muttered but the little punk must be taking guilt lessons from Matt in addition to interning as a vigilante.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the kudos and comments.

  
"Hey, look who's cleared for walking, good job," Jessica tipped her glass, well, his glass but her whiskey, toward him in congratulations.

"Thanks. I thought I was cleared from needing a babysitter, too," Matt said. He took careful steps over to the couch before using his hand to guide him to sit.

He wasn't 100% yet despite the training wheels of mobility.

"Like anyone would trust a baby with me," Jessica replied. "I'm just killing time until my blood alcohol content hits red again and I'll be on my way."

He patted the couch, not making contact with her knee. "I'm not rushing you off. I finally feel more like myself and I'd prefer to wake up with you in the house than hear Danny and Colleen getting frisky again."

"Pretty sure that kid's imprinted on you," Jessica said.

"God help us all," Matt snorted. "How's business?"

She kicked at him and he smiled. Claire had been right - he would have never improved this fast stuck in a convent. "None of your business since I don't need a lawyer."

"I still can't believe I am a lawyer. I thought I'd be in jail or dead after Midland Circle."

"Or on a murder honeymoon with Elektra," she said.

He huffed. "Well, I did offer but she turned me down with a polite knife to the gut."

Jessica winced. "Harsh. Can I ask you something?" She waited for his hum of acknowledgment. "Did she have a heartbeat?"

The room was silent apart from the buzz of the billboard and honks from the street. "No. She didn't. But she was warm, she felt - I kissed her and she tasted the same, alive and - her blood still moved through her veins. But her heart never made a sound."

"So you just kissed her until your own heart stopped. You're a dumbass," Jessica said, kicking at him again.

"I had to be sure that there was nothing left to save."

She studied him. "Are you sure now?"

"Yeah," he said.

She'd probably regret it later, but for the moment, she believed him. "Good. You're a stubborn bastard."

"I'll take that," Matt chuckled.

"You're a heartbreaker, too. You really did a number on that Karen girl," Jessica said, watching for his reaction.

"Not on purpose. I could say the same thing about you but this isn't high school," Matt countered with a faint laugh.

She liked the laugh. "I withdraw the topic from the floor." She reconsidered. "How the fuck do you know anything about it anyway?"

"Claire's pulse spikes when he talks to you. Almost as much as yours does."

She wished she hadn't reconsidered and dropped the subject but now she can't. "Does Luke's pick up when Claire messes with you? Because you gotta tell me what that kind of 'stank-eye' sounds like."

"He's got nothing to worry about with me and Claire," Matt said.

"Just like she's got nothing to worry about with me and Luke."

Matt smiled again. "Do you want to know something I've learned about you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him even if he couldn't see it. "Not sure. Try me."

"You're not a drunk," he whispered. "You haven't been fully intoxicated since we've met. Danny was more drunk off that saki last night than you've ever been around me. Your metabolism burns through the alcohol like you're drinking juice."

"Huh," she replied. She'd never wanted to think about it but it made karmic sense. "Fuck."

"In the spirit of that little secret, how about you let me have a splash of that?"

She wiped the rim of her glass and filled it for him, keeping the bottle for herself. "You know, Colleen gives you the same stank-eye when Danny talks to you."

He choked on his sip. "Jesus, I'm not a pedophile."

Worth it to see that smile, though.

 

* * *

 

_"I'm being dead serious with you right now, Danny. You have got to take some business classes; basic accounting at least, if you're ever going to get the respect you want."_

Luke smiled at Matt's lecture and understood how he swayed juries to acquit and strangers to blow up buildings on top of him.

Guy had a way with words.

"Dead serious - too soon for jokes like that, isn't it?" Luke asked.

"Just his morbid attempt of a pep talk for me going into the office tomorrow. Ward's back and I have to start paying more attention to the business when he's around," Danny said.

"Bad things do seem to happen when you wear ties, can't imagine the chaos if you were to put on dress shoes," Luke snorted.

"I wouldn't wear shoes at all if I had my way," Danny muttered. "Fuck you both."

"You're starting a new case tomorrow, aren't you? Getting back on the wagon?" Luke asked, openly looking at the new suit of armor hanging in the closet. Hopefully Matt wouldn't find it right away.

"Foggy softballed me a couple of cases that don't pay enough for his boss to care about. I'm not below taking scraps over a handout," Matt said.

Luke nodded his understanding but Danny frowned. "It's not the same thing, don't even start," Matt added before Danny could say something unintentionally offensive.

"I'll think about the classes if you think about what I said about rent control," Danny said.

"You don't even know what that means," Matt sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "Please tell me you or Claire will keep your eyes on him," he said to Luke.

"Yeah, she didn't put in her profile that she had a soft spot for clueless ninjas but we're making it work," Luke replied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much fun. I feel better now. Had to cut this off before my brand new Jessica/Matt muse spin-kicked me and took over. (How did she even get in here?)
> 
>  
> 
> *title from a Lorde song.

**Author's Note:**

> Cliche, I know, with the nuns and the vow of silence but I thought it would be just as maddening for Matt to be stuck in a place with a lack of sound as it would be for him to be hyper-stimulated in a hospital.


End file.
